The Beginning

— Several Hours Earlier —

“Wow… what is this?” someone asked while staring at the small object in front of him.

“You haven’t heard? Researchers from various countries just discovered this thing yesterday.”

“An object? This small?”

“Yeah. Until now, nobody knows what it actually is. But according to them, it feels strange for something like this to exist in the middle of Antarctica.”

“Especially in temperatures this cold…”

“So now we’re the ones being told to investigate this troublesome thing?”

“I guess so… and for some reason, I have a bad feeling about it.”

It was true. They were part of a special investigation team tasked with researching strange objects discovered during Antarctic expeditions.

The team consisted of a professor as the leader, along with three other members with different fields of expertise—a technician, a physicist, and an archaeologist.

“Hey, Rachel. You awake?” asked Reynard, the technician.

“Mhm… just woke up. What is it?”

“We just got a new assignment from the director.”

“A new assignment?” Rachel yawned softly. “It’s rare to hear you call a job troublesome.”

Reynard clicked his tongue lightly.

“Do you think I’m some kind of robot that can fix everything?”

Rachel laughed quietly.

“Am I wrong? Ever since you joined this team, has anything ever truly failed?”

“That’s because of teamwork, you know.” Reynard let out a sigh. “I still get helped a lot by the professor and that physicist too… There’s still a lot I need to learn after graduating from university.”

Rachel leaned back casually in her chair.

“You guys are lucky to still have plenty of work. Sometimes I feel like I’m not very useful in this team myself.”

“Don’t say that.”

Reynard chuckled softly before continuing,

“You only feel that way because you always do your work in the middle of the night. Everyone else ends up having to adjust their schedules too.”

“Hey?! What’s that supposed to mean?” Rachel immediately glared at him. “I was trying to encourage you this whole time!”

Reynard couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Hahaha… sorry, sorry. It’s just that your angry face is cute.”

Hearing that, Rachel immediately covered her face while lightly hitting Reynard’s shoulder.

Not long after that, the professor and the team’s senior physicist finally returned from their meeting.

The two of them looked pale as they entered the room. However, the moment they saw Rachel and Reynard, their expressions slowly changed as if trying to hide something.

Reynard immediately frowned after noticing it.

“What happened?” he asked the professor.

The professor stayed silent for a few seconds before finally speaking.

“You already know that we’ve been stationed at this research station for quite a long time, right?”

“Yeah… what about it?”

“Because of the strange object discovered several hours ago, our team has been selected as the main investigation unit.”

Reynard looked slightly surprised.

“Seriously?”

“However…” the professor paused briefly, “only Richard, Reynard, and I are required to participate.”

“What?” Reynard immediately turned toward Rachel. “Wouldn’t it actually be better to have an archaeologist with us?”

The professor let out a quiet sigh.

“I already said the same thing to the director. But the request came directly from the lead researchers.”

Richard, the physicist, finally joined the conversation.

“According to their initial analysis… the object contains technology that surpasses humanity’s current understanding.”

The room suddenly fell silent.

“Then… what about Rachel?” Reynard finally asked while looking toward the professor and Richard.

Richard adjusted his glasses before answering.

“The director asked Rachel to finish her current work first.”

“Without a deadline?”

“More or less.” Richard nodded slowly. “After that, she’ll most likely be temporarily transferred to another investigation unit depending on each station’s needs.”

Rachel stayed silent after hearing the explanation.

Reynard slowly clenched his fist before finally speaking.

“Professor… don’t you all know that Rachel still has trauma from that incident?”

The atmosphere in the room immediately turned tense.

The professor looked slightly surprised upon hearing Reynard’s tone. But after remaining silent for a moment, he simply let out a long sigh.

“I understand her feelings.”

The professor slowly removed his glasses before continuing,

“I already submitted a protest beforehand. However, the director’s decision is final… the meeting has ended, and the majority vote has already been decided.”

Reynard gritted his teeth quietly.

“Then I won’t participate in this mission.”

He immediately stood up from his chair.

“In fact, maybe I should speak directly to the director right now.”

“Wait!” Rachel immediately stood up. “You don’t have to go that far… the decision’s already been made, what else can we do?”

“No, this doesn’t make any sense.”

Reynard replied in a louder tone than usual.

“That director only thinks about what benefits this research station. He never even cares about the condition of his own subordinates.”

Rachel fell silent after hearing those words.

Reynard gritted his teeth again before continuing,

“That’s why a place like this should never be led by a businessman.”

Without waiting for anyone’s response, Reynard immediately walked toward the director’s office.

It was the first time in two years of working at the research station that he openly filed a protest.

Even the director himself seemed surprised to see him.

The station’s ace technician—the young man who had graduated from university only three years ago and always completed every task without much complaint—was finally rejecting his superior’s decision for the first time.

“Oh, Reynard.”

The director, who had been reading documents at his desk, slowly raised his head.

“What is it? It’s unusual for you to come to my office.”

Reynard took a slow breath before answering,

“I want to file a protest, Director.”

“About Rachel?”

“Yes.” Reynard nodded slowly. “I don’t understand why she has to be separated from our team just for the sake of those outside researchers’ investigation.”

The director leaned back in his chair before answering,

“Because this concerns the survival of our research station.”

He stared at Reynard for a few seconds before continuing,

“They are currently the best researchers in the world. If this cooperation succeeds, our station’s position will change drastically.”

The director paused briefly.

“It’s just that…”

He let out a small sigh.

“Some of them are admittedly difficult to deal with.”

“Then what does that have to do with Rachel being separated from our team?” Reynard asked with a raised voice.

The director stayed silent for a moment before finally answering,

“Actually, the reason is quite simple.”

He opened several documents on his desk.

“To participate in the investigation alongside those researchers, our station has to spend a considerable amount of money.”

Reynard immediately frowned after hearing that.

The director continued,

“And the results of today’s meeting decided that the investigation budget is only enough for three people.”

The room fell silent once again for several seconds.

“If you want to add another member…” the director looked at Reynard calmly, “then someone would have to pay for themselves.”

“They’re the ones who asked us to join this investigation, aren’t they?” Reynard immediately replied. “Then why are we the ones who have to cover our own team’s expenses?”

The director only smiled bitterly.

“And that is the real problem.”

He crossed his arms on top of the desk.

“Those researchers are used to giving orders without truly considering other people’s circumstances.”

Reynard quietly gritted his teeth.

The director continued in a calm tone,

“But at the same time, they are the most valuable research assets of their respective countries.”

“When we tried to file a protest…”

The director paused briefly before letting out a humorless laugh.

“What we received was not fairness between stations, but political pressure from multiple countries.”

Reynard fell silent for a moment.

“Do you know why?”

The director looked directly at him.

“Because this station is merely a private research facility. We don’t have political protection on the same scale as they do.”

Reynard stayed silent for several moments before finally asking quietly,

“…Is there really nothing else that can be done?”

The director leaned back in his chair while staring at Reynard for quite a while.

“Actually… there is one way.”

“What is it?”

The director opened his desk drawer and took out a contract document.

“Just this once, I might reconsider the decision… if you’re willing to sign this contract extension.”

Reynard immediately fell silent upon seeing the document.

The director smiled faintly.

“You are the most valuable asset in this station, Reynard. Of course I would do anything to keep you here.”

He then laughed softly before continuing,

“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll personally cover your participation costs. As for Rachel… she’ll use the station’s official budget.”

“Alright…”

Reynard eventually signed the contract.

After one final short conversation with the director, he immediately returned to his team’s room.

The research station’s hallways still looked busy. Researchers from various countries were occupied discussing the results of their studies regarding the mysterious object discovered several hours earlier.

However, just as Reynard opened the door to his room—

The emergency alarm suddenly sounded.

BEEEEEEEEEP—

Every light in the station flickered violently.

And for the very first time… that foreign fog began emerging from the room’s ventilation system.

Startled, Reynard immediately ran toward his team.

“Hey! What just happened?!”

The professor, Richard, and Rachel—who had still been discussing his earlier actions—immediately turned toward the door.

But the moment they saw Reynard’s panicked expression, the three of them quickly approached him.

“We just heard it too!” Rachel answered quickly.

The emergency alarm began echoing throughout the entire research station.

“We need to get to the shelter immediately!” the professor said firmly.

Richard immediately shook his head slowly.

“You all go first. There are still research documents I need to bring.”

“What?!” Rachel immediately stared at him in disbelief. “In a situation like this, you’re still thinking about documents?!”

Without waiting for an answer, Rachel immediately grabbed the old physicist’s arm.

“No, you’re coming with us no matter what!”

The four of them immediately ran through hallway after hallway of the research station.

However, as time passed, the atmosphere became increasingly unsettling.

The fog that had initially only appeared from the ventilation system was now beginning to spread throughout the entire station. Slowly… but surely.

What made them shiver was the unnatural way it moved.

It was as if the fog was following them.

The emergency alarm continued echoing throughout the freezing hallways.

Eventually, they arrived at a three-way intersection.

And that was where they froze.

The corridor ahead of them had already been completely filled with thick fog slowly moving toward them.

“What the hell…” Rachel muttered quietly.

The fog felt alive.

As if it was truly hunting them down.

“Left! Quickly!” the professor shouted.

Without thinking twice, they immediately turned toward the left hallway.

“The station’s main cafeteria is ahead!” the professor shouted while continuing to run.

Richard immediately understood what he meant.

“Then we must be close to this sector’s exit!”

“We’re almost there! Come on!” Reynard tried to encourage everyone.

Not long after, they finally saw a wide corridor at the end of the long hallway.

However, their hope immediately collapsed.

The corridor had already been filled with a sea of people desperately trying to escape the research sector.

Screams, alarms, and footsteps mixed together into one chaotic noise.

Meanwhile… the foreign fog behind them continued approaching slowly.

“Damn it…!”

The four of them immediately tried forcing their way through the crowd.

Richard was the first to reach the emergency door while tightly holding Rachel’s hand.

But amidst the crowd’s violent pushing—

Their grip slipped apart.

And so did Rachel’s hand from Reynard’s.

“Reynard!”

Realizing the situation, the professor immediately pushed Rachel and Richard forward with all the strength he had.

Slowly, Rachel finally managed to get through the emergency exit.

But fate was different for the professor and Reynard.

WARNING — SECTOR LOCKDOWN INITIATED

The main door began closing automatically.

Some people who noticed it immediately started screaming in panic, forcing the crowd to move faster.

However, most of them only truly realized what was happening after the professor shouted with all his strength,

“THE DOOR IS CLOSING! GET AWAY FROM THE CENTER!”

Instantly, the situation became even more chaotic.

The people still trapped behind began panicking and pushing one another.

Fortunately, most of the people standing directly beneath the door managed to escape—or retreat back inside—before the twenty-ton steel door completely shut.

BRAAAAAK—

The massive door finally sealed shut.

Rachel froze in place.

So did Richard.

Their teammates, who had spent nearly three years together with them… were now trapped behind that door.

In a situation like this, they didn’t even know whether the professor and Reynard were still alive or not.

“No… wait…!”

Rachel immediately ran toward the door and started pounding on it repeatedly.

“Open it! Please open the door!”

But Richard quickly held her back before she could hurt herself.

That was the last time they saw the professor and Reynard… at least for a while.